Me, I'm Shirley Byrd and I operate this one-woman shop: from fabric shopping; to designing and cutting; to sewing and photo shooting. Sometimes I feel like a mad hatter having to wear so many of them!

I love how textile transforms living spaces into fabulous havens. Fashion, contemporary and modern decors, abstract art, and fabric art are my inspirations.

I began working with textile at the age of seven. I sat on the floor, next to my grandmother’s peddle-operated Singer sewing machine and fashioned scrapes of fabric into clothes for my dolls. My grandmother was a seamstress and a quilter. She taught me how to sew; how to make patterns from newspaper; and how to adjust store bought patterns to fit real body shapes.

Fast forward pass a Bachelor of Arts degree; a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa and then staff; and finally an HR systems specialist/project manager at a federal agency in Washington DC. (The longer the title, the more work you get to do!) It was during this latter period that my next career, though I didn't know it, was formulating.

My interest in home textiles devoured my evening and weekend hours. I was decorating my condo and creating a garden room on the balcony. I couldn't find what I wanted in ready made window treatments, cushions and pillows. I did find a nationally known home decorating store that made it possible for me to select fabrics, create a design and have them construct the project. Later, a 5-year long home decorating project lasted through two different homes and into retirement. My style had completely changed to a contemporary, almost minimal decor but still with a touch of the traditional. After I had retired, I worked at that same national fabric and home decorating store helping others make their home decorating visions come to life.

My shop is more than just something to do in retirement. It's a path to my next dream. Its a doorway to meeting all sorts of wonderful people. It challenges me to continue to learn even more about home decorating styles and to create high quality pillows that are practical, stylish--and timeless. And I'm loving every minute of my new venture!

It was nice of you to read my story. Thank you. You can see my work at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Annsliee?ref=si_shop

You can also Connect with me at http://www.annsliee.com